Jazz is a white term to define black people. My music is black classical music.

I applied for a scholarship to Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia. I knew I was good enough, but they turned me down. And it took me about six months to realize it was because I was black. I never really got over that jolt of racism at the time.

I made wine from the lilac tree/Put my heart in its recipe/It makes me see what I want to see/And be what I want to be

My love is like the wind and wild is the wind. Give me more than one caress, satisfy my hungriness. Let the wind blow through your heart for wild is the wind.

I don't like rap music at all. I don't think it's music. It's just a beat and rapping.

I feel what they feel. And people who listen to me know that, and it makes them feel like they're not alone.

I only knew classical music, which to me was the only true music. The only way I could survive at the bar was to mix the classical music with popular songs, and that meant I had to sing. What happened was that I discovered I had a voice plus the talent to mix classical music together with more popular songs, which at the time I detested.